Chemical

摘要

The chemical tanker market was active inrnJanuary and freight rates on major routesrnfirmed up (see Drewry’s chemical freightrnindex, left).rnBad weather in Northeast Asia closedrnseveral ports and resulted in severe delays.rnThis tighter vessel availability pushed uprnfreight rates on the intra-Northeast Asiarnroutes. Meanwhile, Chinese buyers werernbuilding pre- and post-Chinese New Yearrninventories, which had added pressurernon the ports in the region. The spike inrndemand at the already busy ports hadrncaused a build-up of ships waiting forrnberthing space.